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South Dakota regulators on Monday rejected a permit application for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline through the state, dealing a fresh setback to the company behind the multistate project after North Dakota refused a siting permit for another leg there. The decision complicates an already complex process for Summit Carbon Solutions as it seeks similar authorization in other states amid opposition from landowners and environmental groups. Political Cartoons View All 1152 ImagesThe South Dakota panel's vote came on a motion made Friday by commission staff. They said Summit's proposed route would violate county ordinances involving setback distances. North Dakota regulators last month denied Summit a siting permit for its 320-mile (515-kilometer) proposed route through the state.

Persons: Summit, Summit's, Kristen Edwards, Brett Koenecke, Gary Hanson, ” Hanson, Lee Blank, Koenecke, Brian Jorde, ” Organizations: North Dakota, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, Carbon Solutions, ”, Summit, Iowa Utilities Board, Public Service Commission Locations: Dakota, North, Iowa , Minnesota , Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, ”, Omaha, . Minnesota, Minnesota, Fergus Falls

South Dakota regulators on Wednesday denied a construction permit for a carbon dioxide pipeline project, one month after a North Dakota panel did the same to a similar project by another company. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously to deny Navigator's application for its Heartland Greenway pipeline. The proposed South Dakota route encompassed 112 miles (180 kilometers) and would serve three ethanol plants. Other states continue to weigh Summit's project, which would encompass a 2,000-mile network from 30-some ethanol plants throughout Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota to an underground storage site in North Dakota. Summit this week withdrew its applications to Oliver County for two permits related to construction of injection wells for its underground CO2 storage site in central North Dakota.

Persons: Kristie Fiegen, Brian Jorde, It's, Oliver, Jaden Schmidt, Sabrina Ahmed Zenor, Oliver County's Organizations: The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, Summit Carbon Solutions, Navigator, The Iowa Utilities Board, Dakota's Public Service Commission Locations: Dakota, Illinois , Iowa, Minnesota , Nebraska, South Dakota, Illinois, The, Heartland, Iowa, Midwest, Iowa , Minnesota , Nebraska, North Dakota, Oliver County, Summit, Oliver

☆ New Zealand govt pledges gender pay gap reporting
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/David Gray/File PhotoWELLINGTON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - New Zealand's Labour government, trailing in opinion polls ahead of an October election, said on Friday it plans to require large firms to publish gender pay gap data in an effort to get equal pay for the country’s women. With only two months to the Oct. 14 polls the government will need to be re-election or gain bipartisan support after the polls for the gender pay gap policy to be legislated. It said it plans initially to require 900 public sector companies, which employ more than 250 employees each, to report their gender pay gap. “Countries we compare ourselves to including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom have already successfully introduced gender pay gap reporting. As of June 30, the gender pay gap in the public service was 7.7%, according to data from the Public Service Commission.

Persons: David Gray, ”, Women Jan Tinetti, Lucy Craymer, Michael Perry Organizations: REUTERS, Zealand's Labour, Women, Public Service Commission, Labour Party, Curia Market Research, National, ACT, Thomson Locations: Wellington, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom

☆ A retired Georgia couple is fighting back against a railroad company that wants to take land their family has owned for generations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A retired Georgia couple is battling a railroad company that wants their land. The couple is part of a group fighting Sandersville Railroad's plan to use the eminent domain process. The Institute for Justice has accused the railroad company of abusing eminent-domain power. Blaine and Marvin Smith own separate parcels of land, both of which Sandersville's push for eminent domain would impact. Institute for JusticeBen Tarbutton III, a representative for Sandersville Railroad, said the company disagreed "with the assertions made by the Institute for Justice."

☆ Can Brandon Presley Help Mississippi Break from the Past? - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( David Firestone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Mr. Presley, 45, is one of three elected members of the state Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, and is the former mayor of Nettleton, a small town in the bright-red northeast section of Mississippi. His most effective tactic is his unrelenting attack on Mr. Reeves and the welfare scandal that has swirled around him and the previous Republican governor, Phil Bryant. At the same time, the state was rejecting a large majority of requests from families for Mississippi’s meager $170 a month in welfare payments. Mr. Reeves was lieutenant governor when all this was going on, and several people at the center of the scandal have been his friends and supporters. That was all Mr. Presley needed.

☆ New York state to forgive $672 million of overdue gas, electric bills
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 19 (Reuters) - New York state will forgive $672 million worth of unpaid gas and electric utility bills from the pandemic era for about half a million customers, in what the governor's office said was "the largest utility customer financial assistance program in state history." The relief is expected to prevent potential service terminations for more than 478,000 residential customers and about 56,000 small businesses, while avoiding significant downgrades to their credit, the office of Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement. The debt-forgiveness program by the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) will give one-time credits to all residential non-low-income customers and small-commercial customers for any utility arrears through May 1, 2022. Utilities provided a record $101 million in this round of pandemic debt relief, following a $36 million contribution to a similar $567 million program in June last year to help low-income customers pay off past electric and gas bills, the statement said. Reporting by Deep Vakil in Bengaluru Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biden names Phillips acting head of energy regulator
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FollowWASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden has named Willie Phillips, a Democrat, acting chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC said on Tuesday. Phillips joined the commission in December, 2021 after being appointed by Biden and approved by Congress. After Phillips joined FERC, that began to change as Democrats had a 3-2 majority and the Biden administration pursued policies to transition to low-carbon energy. But now Phillips is acting chairman, FERC will be locked at a 2-2 because the former head, Richard Glick, left FERC after Senator Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat, did not hold a confirmation hearing to consider Biden's re-nomination of Glick. Phillips will serve as temporary chief of the commission as the Biden administration considers nominating a permanent chair.

We’re going to win Georgia,” Biden said in response to questions regarding his outlook on the Georgia Senate runoff contest as he exited Air Force One Tuesday night. Share this -Link copiedWarnock defeats Walker in Georgia Senate runoff, NBC News projects Sen. Raphael Warnock has won his second statewide runoff election in the last two years, defeating Republican Herschel Walker in the increasingly purple state of Georgia to capture a six-year term in the Senate, NBC News projected. Share this -Link copiedThe Senate runoff election is still too close to call, but Warnock leads The Senate runoff election between Warnock and Walker is still too close to call, but Warnock leads, NBC News' Decision Desk said just before 10 p.m. Share this -Link copiedPolls close soon in critical Georgia Senate runoff Polls are closing at 7 p.m. ET in the Senate runoff election in Georgia, where Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is hoping to fend off a challenge from Republican Herschel Walker.

The turnout in the Senate runoff was nearly 75% to 80% of the entire turnout for the midterm election in November. Share this -Link copiedPolls close soon in critical Georgia Senate runoff Polls are closing at 7 p.m. ET in the Senate runoff election in Georgia, where Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is hoping to fend off a challenge from Republican Herschel Walker. Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has a massive ad-spending and fundraising advantage over Republican Herschel Walker in the runoff election. In the 2022 general election, Warnock grew his advantage in Henry County, winning it by just over 31 points.

Share this -Link copiedGroups work to mobilize Latino voters in Georgia Senate runoff From giving away bingo-like Mexican lotería cards to Taco Tuesdays and World Cup watch parties, Latino voting mobilization efforts ramped up in Georgia leading into the Senate runoff election. Share this -Link copiedPolls close soon in critical Georgia Senate runoff Polls are closing at 7 p.m. ET in the Senate runoff election in Georgia, where Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is hoping to fend off a challenge from Republican Herschel Walker. Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has a massive ad-spending and fundraising advantage over Republican Herschel Walker in the runoff election. In the 2022 general election, Warnock grew his advantage in Henry County, winning it by just over 31 points.

CNN —Republican Herschel Walker is getting a tax break intended only for a primary residence this year on his home in the Dallas, Texas, area, despite running for Senate in Georgia. Walker registered to vote in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2021 after living in Texas for two decades and voting infrequently. 11Alive News, a local Georgia station, first reported that Walker took the homestead exemption on his Texas home in 2020. The county tax office in Texas where Walker maintains his home confirmed the exemption. Homeowners in many states are able to apply for a tax exemption by declaring their home to be their primary residence and the exemption lowers their tax bill by removing part of their home’s value on paper.

“You really need leadership in these local areas to execute on the Inflation Reduction Act to the fullest extent,” Spears said. “This completely opens the pathway for Michigan to lead on clean cars of the future, and that’s really exciting,” Spears said. Climate victories at the local level are also poised to make a big impact. If fully implemented, climate experts have said the Inflation Reduction Act could reduce U.S. emissions by about 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. “So it’s really important to have climate leadership in state and local governments to actually execute on that and make sure it happens well.”

They heat their home mainly with fuel oil, which costs them $4.57 a gallon, up from around $3.10 last year. Duke Energy customers in Indiana were recently hit with a 7% hike after a temporary 16% increase just this summer. Fuel oil customers often must pay for deliveries up front, and many suppliers have been less willing to offer payment plans because of market volatility, experts said. “I don’t have savings, period.”Brickey and Parks applied for LIHEAP assistance through District Three, a government cooperative geared toward senior citizens in southwest Virginia. They had three months of electricity paid for this past summer, along with $800 worth of fuel oil assistance last winter.

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